OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE, 
97 
harbour there is a remarkable block of sandstone, somewhat resembling the 1819. 
roof of a house, on which the ships’ names were subsequently engraved by 
Mr. Fisher, This stone is very conspicuous in coming from the eastward, 
and when kept open to the southward of the grounded ice at the end of the 
reef, forms a good leading mark for the channel into the harbour. Off the 
end of the reef the Avater deepened to six fathoms, and the Hecla’s anchor 
was dropped in eight fathoms, half a mile within the reef, and close to the 
edge of the ice through which the canal was to be cut. The Griper arrived 
soon after, and by half-past eight A.M. both ships were secured in the proper 
position for commencing the intended operations. 
As soon as our people had breakfasted I proceeded, with a small party of 
men, to sound, and to mark with boarding-pikes upon the ice, the most direct 
channel we could find to the anchorage ; having left directions for every other 
officer and man in both ships to be employed in cutting the canal. This opera- 
tion was performed by first marking out two parallel lines, distant from each 
other a little more than the breadth of the larger ship. Along each of these 
lines a cut was then made with an ice-saw, and others again at right angles to 
them, at intervals of from ten to twenty feet ; thus dividing the ice into a 
number of rectangular pieces, which it was again necessary to subdivide dia- 
gonally, in order to give room for their being floated out of the canal. On 
returning from the upper part of the harbour, where I had marked out what ap- 
peared to be the best situation for our winter-quarters, I found that consider- 
able progress had been made in cutting the canal, and in floating the pieces 
out of it. To facilitate the latter part of the process, the seamen, who are 
always fond of doing things in their own way, took advantage of a fresh 
northerly breeze, by setting some boats’ sails upon the pieces of ice, a con- 
trivance which saved both time and labour. This part of the operation, 
however, was by far the most troublesome, principally on account of the 
quantity of young ice Avhich formed in the canal, and especially about the 
entrance, where, before sun-set, it had become so thick that a passage could 
no longer be found for the detached pieces, without considerable trouble in 
breaking it. At half past seven P.M. we weighed our anchors, and began to 
warp up the canal, but the northerly wind blew so fresh, and the people were 
so much fatigued, having been almost constantly at work for nineteen hours, 
that it was midnight before we reached the termination of our first day’s labour. 
While we were thus employed, about nine o’clock a vivid, flash of light was 
observed, exactly like lightning. There was at the same time, and during the 
o 
